Patrick
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Social Marketing with a Splash of Fun
May 9th
By Ian Bevan
Social marketing has been defined as “the application of commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execution, and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behavior of target audiences in order to improve their personal welfare and that of their society” (Andreasen, 1995)
This article was originally created for my Sustainable Marketing course at Presidio Graduate School. However, the more I researched Denver Water’s incredible social marketing tactics, the more I saw the potential for similar marketing tactics to be used by student organizations to change the unsustainable behavior of fellow college students, family, and community members.
Believe it or not, we are all marketed to thousands of times every day. Thus, for any message to really resonate, it must cut through the chatter of all other marketing messages. How do you accomplish such a feat? Denver Water found many ways of doing so in the Denver community to reduce water usage by nearly 20% in a non-drought period! While the below story does not directly apply to college campuses, it should inspire students to explore creative and sometimes shocking ways to turn heads for a cause. Be sure to click the links in the article as they are quite entertaining and inspiring.
Local government rarely gets the chance to run social marketing campaigns, which employ tongue and cheek humor, edgy imagery, and guerilla marketing tactics to change unsustainable behavior. For the last six years, Denver Water, Colorado’s oldest water utility along with social marketing firm, Sukle, have done just that and with impressive results. The campaign in concert with incentive based enforcement strategies have led to a 19% reduction in water usage in the Denver area over the last three years.
The campaign is called “Use Only What You Need” and is hard to miss around Denver as each component is designed to first shock and then make you think. Both common and uncommon modes of advertisement were used in the campaign, such as viral videos, bus ads, printed ads, promotional give aways, an interactive website, bill boards, an online game called Wack-A-Sprinkler, conveyer belt ads, bench ads, elevators, funny lawn signs, shocking displays, and even seemingly naked men who mingle at events wearing a bright orange sign stating “Use Only What You Need.” For more examples visit www.sukle.com.
In addition to Sukle’s bold and imaginative social marketing strategies, they also use community based marketing strategies to increase the Denver community’s exposure to the campaign’s message. Teri Chavez, marketing and communications director for Denver Water described the community based marketing tactics of Sukle stating, “Its really more than just the campaign and this is what Sukle does well. It’s all their guerilla tactics. Take the sandwich boards or the running toilet. They’re getting into the community at these large events. They’re interacting with customers.”
Chavez went on to describe Denver Water’s mascot called the running toilet, which runs through Broncos stadium only to get tackled for wasting water. ”You can hear parents say ‘look at that running toilet’ and you hear the little conversation they have with their family. The kids say ‘that means we aren’t supposed to let our toilets run at home.’ It’s way more effective than a print ad in a magazine.”, Chavez noted.
It is also important to note that the campaign began in 2006, after a major drought. Denver Water’s board of directors took a progressive stance and decided that rather than yelling all clear, they would instead continue to promote increased water savings to their customers. They set the ambitious goal of reducing water usage by 22% of pre-drought levels by 2015. The lighthearted Use Only What You Need campaign would be instrumental in reaching this new goal and thus the campaign’s budget for the first year was one million dollars. However, after establishing their campaign’s presence in Denver, it was possible to scale back the annual budget to $650,000 for 2011. Considering that Denver is much better prepared for an emergency situation, such as an extreme drought, the cost of maintaining water saving behavior is likely well worth the price and the fun.
Be creative! There are many ways to turn heads on campus and you don’t need much money if any at all. Mascots, displays, flash mobs, and other tactics can be used to change behavior. Please send any shock advertisements your organization has created to greentowersustainability@gmail.com. We will be sure to put them up in our student resource center so they can benefit other students. Always be sure to document your successes and have fun!
Disclaimer: GTS would like to emphasize that it is important in a college setting to use common sense when using shock marketing tactics. Nudity, other graphic images, or overly negative messages might turn heads but also might get your organization negative attention and even penalties from your higher education institution. Large displays or events may need campus approval.
Newsletter v5: Passing the Torch
Apr 6th
The end of semester is closing in and the need to pass that torch is getting ever closer; Handing over responsibilities to the new leadership, finishing up projects before the summer, setting plans in motion for next year. This issue of the newsletter we have resources on passing the torch, a look at some job resources for those graduating, some thought provoking posts on the future of sustainability in education, and much more.
Sustainability for a Non-Profit Organization
Want to expand fundraising in your community? Kavita Ramdas, President and CEO of The Global Fund for Women (GFW) discusses importance of sustainability in grantees and organizations She says “Non-profit exist to deliver basic services to the people the government and private sector can not.” Check out the video here.
Drink Beer to Promote Sustainability
Get Ready for the 10th Annual Green Festival in San Francisco April 9-10, 2011. Packed and plentiful with visionary speakers, workshops, exhibitors, food, fun for the youth, and ample opportunity for potent connections to help generate your projects and ideas in 2011. Can’t make it to SF? No Problem! Catch all the action in Chicago, Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles throughout the year. Check dates here http://www.greenfestivals.org/
Sustainability for a Non-Profit Organization
Apr 6th
Want to expand fundraising in your community? Kavita Ramdas, President and CEO of The Global Fund for Women (GFW) discusses importance of sustainability in grantees and organizations She says “Non-profit exist to deliver basic services to the people the government and private sector can not.”
Watch it on Academic Earth
Newsletter v4: Gearing Up for Spring!
Mar 14th
Happy March ya’ll!
I don’t know about you, but I am super excited spring is almost here. I’m not sure if its Frisbee season, gardening or just walking around outside without turning into a popsicle but spring just gets me fired up to get to work. Spring semester always seemed exceptionally jam packed with environmental events and an overwhelming workload in general. This issue we have a number of organizational resources, some inspiring stories, and some tips on personal sustainability to help get you geared up for the next few
months.
GTS News
Over the last few weeks we have been making a few course corrections to streamline a more effective organizational structure and to appeal better to funding organizations. Part of that process included a little shake up to the management structure of Green Tower. We realized that too many important tasks were getting log-jammed in the pipes because they all needed to pass through the Director position to either get sign-off, or approved, or finished. This issue was hindering our progress and creating an unsustainable workload for Ian.
So now, instead of a single Director position responsible for overseeing everything happening in the organization we have split the responsibilities into two Co-Director positions. Ian will be taking one position, and I will be filling the other. Ian will be primarily responsible for the grant writing and budget oversight issues and I will be working on the external and internal affairs of the organization. We believe this move will help the organization move forward quickly and more sustainably. It’s a lot of work finding the perfect balance for any organization and we are growing more excited as pieces like this one fall into place.
Carrot Mob Resource
Last issue we shared a video about CarrotMobs, an up-and-coming organization that uses collective bargaining to influence businesses into adopting sustainability practices. This past week Ian Bevan sat down with two organizers, Violetta and Hunter, who put on their own CarrotMobs and talked about best practices in putting on this type of event.
CoFed
A friend of GTS’, CoFed (Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive), is a great organization helping
students establish food coops on their campuses across the country. They are rapidly expanding and were
recently featured in an article on Good. This past Monday Ian and I talked with Yoni, CoFed’s Director, to get some tips on establishing a student oriented non-profit. We had a wonderful conversation and are planning to work more with CoFed in the near future.
Student Organizing
A Vision for Student Sustainability
When I read this vision for sustainability written by students at the University
of Michigan I was in awe. They put together a phenomenal document that will be able to guide their student efforts and be used as an advocacy point with administration. Putting together a vision like this can help unite your various student groups and shape a collective vision that you can all work towards.
Student Garden Guide
The Bon Appetit Management Company has compiled a really nice resource starting a student garden and how to work with food services staff on your campus.
Inspiring Work
These two girls blew me away with their organizing prowess and determination to promote behavior change. Both Emily and Catherine are currently in high school but they also are taking college classes at Vanderbilt and are organizing a conservation competition for the college.
Getting Rid of those Trays
Dining hall trays are one of the most controversial of campus sustainability efforts. Sustainability advocates want to toss them to save on water and food waste, and students love them because they are just too convenient. At CU-Boulder their campus has gone through the same struggle as so many others, attempting to toss them only to give up due to student backlash. They are however attempting a different tactic to reduce the use of trays, a competition.
Green Business Blogs
If you’re interested in the interaction between business and sustainability check out this compilation of blogs and green business websites with loads of business sustainability trends.
Organizing Tips
The 22-minute Meeting
Have you heard of Ignite Talks? I was recently turned on to them and saw this funny and informational piece on how to run a “22 minute” meeting. There’s even a handy step-by-step diagram to help you through the process.
Have your Ideas Heard
Another meeting tip, but this time from the attendees’ side of the table. Lifehacker has a quick rundown on how to influence a meeting by being the most prepared person in the room.
Advice to Live By: Don’t be afraid to Fail.
When giving advice to up-and-coming student leaders one of the tips I always give out is to not be afraid of failure. As Dan Shipper points out in
this blog post, if you aren’t failing, you aren’t trying. Failure happens, if
you recognize it and embrace it you can learn from what went wrong and improve
the next time.
Sustainable Living
Avoiding Plastic
I’m sure you all realize this, but plastic is everywhere. It permeates everything we use on a daily basis, and it never goes away. Here are 10 easy tips on ways you can avoid plastic in your personal life.
Cooking in Small Spaces
Earth911 put some great tips together on how to cook in a small space with low resources, you know perfect for the low-budget college student.
Happy Sustaining!
Carrot Mob Case Study
Mar 4th
Violetta Muselli, Hunter Flynn and Ian Beven got together over skype to discuss the benefits of Carrot Mob projects. Carrot Mobs leverage the power of collective bargaining to get a business to implement energy and environmental practices in their store.
Newsletter v3: We have SustainaRaps, CarrotMobs and more inside!!
Feb 25th
SustainaRaps!
“Me and my Bike” by kids from Nairobi as part of the www.1minutetosavetheworld.com
Video Interview on Communicating Effectively
Connie Kwan, blogger and student at Presidio Graduate School, interviews John Marshal Roberts, CEO of Worldview Thinking, on Communicating Effectively.
Tips for Personal Sustainability
Check out Earth911′s handy post on reducing your food waste
CarrotMob!
I am in love with CarrotMob. They’re an up-and-coming organization working to use the power of collective purchasing to leverage sustainability improvements in businesses.
Foodies Leading the Way
According to Time Magazine foodies could lead the green movement.
Recyclable Laptops
Stanford students invent a new, more recyclable, laptop.
Plastic and Social Justice
Van Jones talks about the social justice implications of plastic
Students Leading the Way
Students at MSU won a pollution prevention award for their work on their campus.
Overcoming Barriers
This article on Overcoming Barriers to Success was a great overview of things to look for and ways to address the challenges of opposition.
Sustainability Quotes
A list of quotes from various leaders about business and sustainability
Newsletter v2: Happy start of RecycleMania to you all!
Feb 9th
This weeks newsletter takes a look at conservation competitions on campuses, some great book recommendations, and a few videos that are worth a watch. Be sure to check out the Resources Center for more useful tools, ideas, and articles!
GTS News!
In the last few weeks Green Tower has added a new Welcome video and Membership Orientation video to the website.
We also added a paypal donation button!!
Finally, we are currently working with a group in the Netherlands to establish an International Chapter of Green Tower Sustainability! Make sure to stay tuned to the website as we will be adding their chapter page in the next coming weeks!
Frazil Ice!
The first video is a piece from the National Park Service on Frazil Ice at Yosemite National Park. It’s got a combination of education and beautiful scenes from Yosemite Park. Seriously how cool is this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=9V9p4mFEYXc&vq=medium#t=15
GTS Talks: RecycleMania and Conservation Competitions!
By Ian and Pat
In honor of the RecycleMania Competition starting today, Ian and I sat down and talked about some good practices for starting conservation competitions on campuses. Check it out here.
Book Review: Cradle to Cradle!
by Ben
Cradle to Cradle is one of my favorite sustainability-related books, not because it’s so revolutionary or earth shattering, but because it is such an articulate (and relatively basic) explanation of what sustainable systems are. This book is fantastic for helping to frame sustainability issues and for developing the ability to think in terms of sustainability. I learned a lot form the book when I read it in 2007 after a couple of years as a sustainability activist, but I’ve also recommended it several times to friends as a good introduction to sustainability – it works for several levels. A lot of the value I personally find in this book is in relating technological and biological systems to each other and showing why one is working so well while the other is not. Although the book discusses primarily material flows, its ideas and main points are applicable to a wide spectrum of other issues as well.
Level: Introductory to Advanced. Great intro to general concepts, but also a great perspective for advanced sustainers to add to their toolkit.
Who should read it? Anyone who is interested in sustainability, manufacturing & production processes, biology, or waste management.
Also worth checking out is William McDonough’s TED Talk about Cradle to Cradle
Real Food Challenge Summits across the Country!
Be sure to check out the Real Food Challenge Summits taking place this spring across the country. The Real Food Challenge works to bring together and empower students and staff to transition to real, nutritious foods in their campus dining halls. Sign up now for a summit near you!
Student Focus!
Students at Loyola Chicago are hosting a competition to fund sustainable projects. Groups of students can apply create projects that would make the Loyola campus more sustainable. The three best projects win $5,000 in start-up funding. Check out the full story!
Here at Green Tower we love when students get to take the reins and put their education into practice. At the University of Arizona the House Energy Doctor program has been letting graduate architecture students help buildings reduce their energy consumption since 1986. This year with the help of the UA Office of Sustainability the students will be helping the Arizona campus save energy! You can read more here!
Watch the Academy Award nominated film “The Warriors of Qiugang” online!
This short film documents the villagers of the Chinese village of Qiugang’s fight to get rid of the polluting factories that were making their families sick. The film was co-produced by Yale Environment 360 with filmmakers Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon and can be viewed online!
Interesting Reads!
How important is the CEO (or University President) to Sustainability
Top 10 books on sustainability
Why you should be pissed about climate change!
Interested in getting more involved with Green Tower Sustainability?
Check out our membership and mentor pages!
Happy Sustaining!
Patrick and the Green Tower Sustainability Staff
The First Newsletter
Jan 24th
Have you not gotten the memo yet? GTS has a new newsletter. Enter your email in the box below then scroll down to experience the fun.
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Greetings Friends!
Welcome to the first GTS Newsletter! From now on you can expect one of these puppies in your inbox every other Monday (Next issue: 2/7/11). The newsletter will feature content provided by GTS mentors and guest contributors as well as interesting stories and links that I find on my adventures across the Internet.
Video Resource on Creating a Student Organization!
by Ian
In this video Ian breaks down the process for creating a student organization on campus.
This is the first in a new media venture for GTS where we will be recording mentors discussing various topics. Stay tuned to the newsletters or check out our Resource Center for periodic updates.
Making Club T-Shirts On the Cheap!
by Jen
When your budget has got you down, don’t worry, we have some cheap grassroots marketing ideas for you. Reduce your purchasing for the semester by making your own advertising t-shirts!
Take an old t-shirt, paint it yourself, and turn it into a mobile ad for your org. Simple as that.
1.Once you have found your desired blank or printed shirt(to be turned inside out), try sourcing old paint from an art department or a craft cabinet. If you check in with Michael’s Craft stores frequently they run 40% specials and you can get fabric paint on discount.
2.Once you have your shirt and paint your ready to create your design. Print your organizations logo from a computer or free-hand a drawing. Use a fun slogan, your website or twitter page. The more variety the more the word gets out about your org and how diverse it is.
3. Once you have traced your desired design use an Exacto knife to cut out the image and lettering. (you can also use stencils, wood or plast cut outs, sponge stamps found at Michael’s, or even the bottom of your favorite hiking shoes).
4. Use an old sponge to fill in the lettering on your shirt.
5. Hang dry and repeat.
This “Paint it Yourself” is a great way to bond with your org while you discuss plans for the semester. Wearing your shirt proudly on campus and while giving speeches in class will really get you noticed. All of the hand painted shirts we made to advertise for Earth Day April 22 SOLD OUT before our screen printed shirts. Students enjoy one of a kind goods that really flaunt their originality and green values. Create group slogan like: “Move clean, live green”, ”Burn fat not oil”, “@GTSustain”, “Like GTS on Facebook”,…You get the picture. Have fun!!! For more examples follow the link to this Facebook album, and be sure to check out the full post with more pictures.
Sustainability Campus Hero (Experimental)!
by Pat
Up until this morning this section didn’t exist. However, during a databasing project I discovered a person who I felt warranted the honor. As it turns out the employees from the John Hopkins University Sustainability Office are a clever bunch. In their bios they each have listed one “Environmental Vice,” explaining exaggerated problems they have being sustainable.
I have never met Ed but based on his staff profile he is a hilarious and awesome individual. Ed’s “Environmental Vice: He sometimes changes temperature settings in buildings based on the luck numbers from the daily horoscope”
If you would like to read the other great “Vice’s” go to http://www.sustainability.jhu.edu/about/about_staff.html
If you would like to honor someone who works on campus sustainability issues and is equally as awesome as Ed please let us know and we will honor the individual.
Resources!
National Wildlife Federation’s Webinar Series
http://www.nwf.org/Global-Warming/Campus-Solutions/Events/Greener-Campus-Webinars.aspx
Dell Social Innovation Competition
http://www.dellsocialinnovationcompetition.com/
Interesting Reads!
A great post on the difference between LEED and sustainability.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/01/13/leed-as-the-seed-sustainability-beyond-certification/
Tips on behavior change related to sustainability from the Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/behaviour-change-sustainability-tips
Kelly Rigg’s new blog on the Huffington Post. In this post Kelly gives tips on talking to climate skeptics.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kelly-rigg/how-to-talk-to-climate-sk_b_810078.html
A good post on the challenges of being a change agent.
http://gmj.gallup.com/content/145484/Overcoming-Fear-Change.aspx?utm_source=email&utm_medium=11JAN-B&utm_content=morelink&utm_campaign=newsletter#1
An oldy but goody, “How do Innovator’s think” from the Harvard Business School http://blogs.hbr.org/hbr/hbreditors/2009/09/how_do_innovators_think.html
Happy Sustaining!
Patrick and the Green Tower Sustainability Staff
www.greentowercampus.com
www.facebook.com/GTS
www.twitter.com/GTSustain